Lost Custody Vocabulary [Effortless English DVD1 > LV2 > 05]

Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for the dear Abby letter,  “Lost Custody”. Let's get started.

“Young mother is frightened  by threat of lost custody.”

“To be frightened”, it means to be scared.  So “frightened” is the same as “scared”. He said, “I’m frightened”, it means “I'm scared” or it means “I'm afraid”.  Afraid; frightened; scared, all means the same thing.

And the word “custody” is important. “Custody” means "ownership". It means to own a person. It really means you are the person responsible for someone else. Usually we use this with children. For example, if I say, “I have custody of my son”, it means… mm.. I am the person responsible for my son.

 The government, the courts, the law says that I am the owner of my son. Right! I have custody that my son lives with me. So, that's what it means this woman, she's worried that her child; her son… she will lose custody. It means she thinks her… If they get it…  If she gets a divorce, her husband will get custody. Meaning the son will live with him. He will have custody.

Right. He will kind of own the child. The child will live with him.So, she's worried that if she gets a divorce the husband would get custody. She would lose her son.

And then “threat” in the same sentence, “she's frightened by the threat of lost custody.”

So this has not happened yet. "A threat”  is something that seems dangerous. It means ahmm… something that might hurt you but it hasn't hurt you yet. Not yet. But it might hurt you.

For example if I have a gun and I point the gun at you; I have the gun and I'm… I'm saying… yelling at you, saying, “I'm going to kill you!” that is a threat. All right. I have not hurt you yet. I have not killed you yet. But I'm saying I will. So it's a possible danger. It means someone could possibly hurt you. So, her husband could possibly take the child. It’s a threat of lost custody.

Alright and then... In the first paragraph at this letter, we have the word "belittles". "To be little". Ahh.. She says her husband always belittles me. Always belittles her. So "to belittle" means to insult and criticize. But, in a... in a really bad way you try to make someone feel small. (That's where the word come from belittle).

It means you... You always putting them down. Always saying bad things to them. So, for example, you're stupid, you're ugly, you'll never succeed, you're always going to fail. There's something wrong with you.

OKay. I'm belittling you. Alright, I am saying bad things to you. To make you feel very small, make you feel weak. So it's a verb "to belittle", to make someone feel small by insulting them again and again.

On the end in the second paragraph, we have the word "unfit". She says... the man... the husband might tell the judge, might tell the government that she is an unfit mother. "Unfit" means... not good enough, not good enough to be something. So, "unfit mother" means a mother whose not good enough to be a mom. Alright. She should not be a mother, she cannot take care of her children. She's unfit. She's not good enough. She can't do the job.

If you say, "He's an unfit teacher", it means he's not good enough to teach, he should not teach. And it's a very strong word. So, It doesn't mean bad. It's stronger than bad. If you say he is a bad teacher, it means... you know, maybe he's boring or maybe he's not very good, but it doesn't, "unfit" is more than that.

"Unfit" means terrible, terrible, terrible, should not be a teacher at all. Alright, does not have the skills. Maybe he never went to college, maybe he doesn't know the subject at all. That's why we would say he is unfit.So, "unfit mother", it's not just a bad mother. It's a mother who cannot take care of her child at all.

 Alright! And then in the next paragraph, we have the phrase "to be better off".

She says, "I know my son won't be better off with my husband." Won't be better off. "To be better off" to mean.. means to have a better situation or to have a better life.  Alright, it can also have the idea to have an improved their life. Improved.

So, she said, uhm... she doesn't think her son would have a better life with her husband. She thinks he would not be better off with the husband. Not have a better life.

And in the same paragraph, we see the phrase "on disability".

"On disability". Now "disability" means... ahh... Exactly what it says

 "ability" means you can do something, right? Some skill or something you can do. "Disability" means something you cannot do. Usually we use this word for something physical.

For example, if I'm in a wheelchair, it means I cannot walk, right? I don't have the ability to walk. I have a disability. I can't walk. I have a disability. Or If I'm blind, I can't see, then I say I have a disability. But this phrase, "to be on disability", it's a little different. Now she's talking about a government program. Disability, the american government pays money to people who have problems, physical problems. Maybe they can't work.

So the government will give them money every month. And that program, the government program is called "Disability". that's a kind of casual name for it.

So, "to be on disability" means you get a check from the government because you have some kind of problem. Now it might be a big problem, very serious, or it might actually be something fairly small. We don't now, in this letter we don't know if it's serious or not. But anyway she's getting a check from the government because of some physical problem or illness or something like that.

And finally, in the last little paragraph, she asked Abby, "Should I stick it out with my husband?"

"Should I stick it out". "To stick it out" means to stay, it means to continue doing something. For example, I'm going to stick it out at my job, that means I'm going to continue working my job.

Now "stick it out", we use it in situations that are... a difficult or unpleasant, not fine. Alright. So if you stick out a job, you say, "I'm going to stick it out at my job", it has the idea that your job is not fun. Alright, you don't like your job, but you will continue doing it anyway.

So, she doesn't really like her husband, but she's asking, "should I stick it out with my husband" meaning... okay, she doesn't enjoy your husband, she doesn't like him, but maybe she should keep trying anyway.  Maybe she should stay with him and continue with him anyway.

So, "stick it out", to continue with a situation that is not easy or that is unpleasant.

And finally she signs this, "Trapped in New Hampshire."

"New hampshire" is a state, it's a part of the United States, in the northeast, part of the country.

"To be trapped" means you can't leave. Alright! It means you're stucked. You are... For example, if I say "I'm trapped in my room", it means my door is locked and I cannot get out, I cannot leave my room, I'm trapped in the room.

"To be trapped in a job" means you are... you a're in a job but you can't leave the job. Maybe you can't find a new one. So you... But you need money so you can't leave the job, you're trapped in the job.

She feels trapped in her marriage. She doesn't like her husband. He's not a good guy, but she feels she can't leave, because she's afraid to lose her son.

So, she feels like she can't leave the marriage. So that's why she signs it "trapped in New Hampshire".

 Alright! That is all of the vocabulary for this little Dear Aabby letter.  Move on to the mini story next. 

Bye-bye!

This vocabulary is typed by MT.Dang. Please do not use it in business. Nội dung bài Vocabulary được gõ lại bởi MT Dang. Vui lòng không sử dụng lại với mục đích kinh doanh - mua bán.Thank you!

    

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Disobedience Vocabulary [Effortless English DVD1 > LV3 > 02]

Hello and welcome to the Effortless English vocabulary for Disobedience.

Ok, I’m goanna talk about the word “just”. “Just” is an important word. It’s a different meaning than the word “just” when you say, “I just want to go to sleep.” In that case,”just” means “only”, right? I only want to go to sleep. But in this case, in this article, “just” means good or fair. It comes from the word “justice”. Ok, so it means goodness, or to be good, fair, correct. That’s what just means.

All right! Little bit later, I use in that same, the first paragraph, Thoreau, in the Thoreau quote, I use the word “admirable”, or he uses the  word “admirable”.

“Admirable” means should be admired. And “admire” means to think good things about someone, to think someone is good. So if someone is admirable, it means you should think they’re good: “Wow, he’s a good person!”; “He is an admirable person.”

All right, I use the phrase “against their wills”, or “against your will” or “against his will”.

“Against your will” means against your choice. It means you do something but you don’t want to do it. Maybe you must do it, but it’s against your will. You don’t really want to.

All right, these… There’s a word here: conscience.

“Conscience” in this case with a “c”, “s-c-i-e-n-c-e”.Your “conscience” is your feeling for right and wrong. What is right and what is wrong. It’s how you decide. You think, “Oh, no, this is bad. This is good.” That’s your conscience. You say, “He has a strong conscience.” It means he always thinks about what is right and what is wrong. He never wants to hurt people. That’s “conscience”.

All right, in of that first paragraph, you’ll see the word “unscrupulous”. An unscrupulous man in power.

“Unscrupulous”, we use it to describe people usually, maybe a company. And “unscrupulous” means you don’t care about right or wrong. It means you do not have a conscience. You only care about power. That’s all you care about. “Unscrupulous”.

All right, the next paragraph, you’ll see the phrase “the State”. “The” is important here.”The State” means the Country or the Nation.

All right, in the next sentence, you’ll see the phrase “standing army”.

“A standing army” is a permanent army. That means an army that’s always, always ready. So America has a standing army. It’s a professional army. It’s not temporary.

All right, you’ll see the word “manufactured” in that paragraph. “Manufactured” means made. The verb “to manufacture” means to make something.

Right! You’ll see the phrase “lump of dirt”.

“A lump of dirt” is a round piece of dirt, like a ball, ball of dirt. “A lump” is something that’s kind of round, a small round thing. We call that a lump. If I hit you on the head with a rock, your head will get a lump on top of it.

Ok, next, so that’s the end of the quote. Next paragraph, I use the word “abominable”. I see many of the abominable problems in the world. “Abominable” means terrible, horrible, really, really bad. “Abominable”.

“Obedience”, is an important word for this article. “Obedience” is a noun. The verb is “to obey”. “Obedience” means you do what other people tell you to do. All right. You follow other people. You follow your boss, or you follow your parents, or you follow the president. That’s obedience.  That’s a noun. The action is actually called “to obey”. All right, “obey”.

All right, the next sentence I use the word “moan”. “Moan” is this sound. (…urrrrrr… urrr….).It’s a sound you make when you are hurt. You are hurt. (ohrrr…ohrr..). And it also sometimes has the idea of criticizing, criticizing someone. Right. “Oh, he’s terrible. Oh, she’s horrible. She’s bad.” You’re moaning.

Ok, I use the word “solely” in that paragraph. “Solely responsible” that means only, only responsible. Right! “Solely” means only.

At the end of that paragraph, I use the word “abandoned”. “These people have abandoned their conscience”. “To abandon something” means to leave it, leave it forever, or to get rid of it. If a mom, a mother abandons her children, she takes her children; she puts them somewhere, and she goes away; she never sees her children again. She has abandoned her children.

All aright, next page of the learning guide, you see the word “soldiers”. Of course, “the soldier” is someone in the army, an army man or army woman.

Talk about “pulling the trigger”. “A trigger” is part of a gun. It’s a part you pull.You pull the trigger that little piece of metal, and then (….), the gun shoots.

I use the word “torturing”, comes from the verb, verb: to torture.

“To torture” is to hurt someone. You try to hurt someone. But it means to hurt someone who has no power. They’re helpless, maybe a prisoner or a child or something. So you hurt them; you hit them; you beat them; you do terrible things to them, that’s called “torture”. It’s a noun or verb.

All right, and then at the end of that part - at the end of that paragraph, I use the verb “to refuse”, “to refuse an order”. To refuse something means to say no. someone asks you to do something or tells you to do something, but you say no, “I won’t do it.” That means you are refusing. Right, I refuse, I will not do it. So refuse is a little bit like a word in the next paragraph, which is “disobey”. “Disobey”, it has a similar meaning, a close meaning. It means, “disobey” means not obey. Do not do what someone tells you to do. You do not follow orders.

And you see the word “unjust”. “Unjust” is the opposite of just. So, “unjust” means bad. “An unjust law” is a bad law. It’s a law that hurts people. So, Thoreau, and Gandhi and Martin Luther King, they all said “disobey unjust laws. Do not follow bad laws.”

Ok, and these people (are)… were rebels. You see in the same paragraph the word “rebels”. “A rebel” is a person who fights the government. They go against the government. Martin Luther King was a rebel. Gandhi was a rebel. Many famous people were rebels. They fought against the government at some time.

All right, at the end of the same paragraph, you see the phrase, “the Vietnam War resisters”.

“A resister” is a person who resists. Of… of course. (hah hah). And “to resist”, the verbs, means… It’s a little like “refuse”, but it has the idea of going against something, fighting against something or trying to stop something. So Vietnam War resister is a person who tried to stop the Vietnam War. An Iraq war resister is someone who’s trying to stop the Iraq war.

Next paragraph, I say that “these people, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Thoreau, they were always condemned in the present”, means during their life, people condemn them. “To condemn” means to criticize, to say very bad things about someone, to blame them, to say they are wrong. Right! So, when Gandhi was alive, the British, many British people especially the government, they said “He’s bad. Gandhi is terrible.” The same thing, Martin Luther King. Many people in the 1950s, they said “Martin Luther King is a bad guy. He’s terrible.”

All right, and I say they’re vilified. These people are vilified.

To "vilify someone” is to describe them as being evil. You say they’re evil, terrible people. That’s “vilify”. So Martin Luther King was vilified during his life. Gandhi was vilified by some people, Thoreau also.

All right! But I say “During the 1950s, Martin Luther King was vilified as a radical.”

A "radical” is someone who wants very big changes. They want to change a lot of things, especially the government. Now it has a little bit of negative meaning. It has the idea of someone might be violent. Of course Martin Luther King was not violent. So, you know, was he a radical? I don’t know. He did want big changes, but he was not violent. So “a radical”: someone who wants big changes.

All right. And then I say, next paragraph, “The authorities he resisted are now viewed as scum.”

“The authorities”, you need “the (/ði/)” or “the (/ðə/)” in front. Those two together, means, usually it means the government, it means people with power. The authorities.

And scum is an insult. It’s a bad word. Don’t call someone a scum unless you hate them. A scum is a low class person, a really bad person, maybe a criminal, maybe someone with no education, is very terrible, bad person. “Scum”.

Alright! And finally the word “lifetime” means, of course, the time that someone lived. Martin Luther King’s lifetime, he lived in the 40s, 50s, and 60s. Gandhi lived in, (you know), late 1800s, 1900s through World War II, etc. Thoreau lived in, you know, 1840s and 1850s, etc.

Ok, that’s it for today’s vocabulary. I went fast today. So if you don’t understand the first time, listen again. That’s the magic of Mp3s. you can listen many many times, repeat this many times. The repetition, the repeating will help you a lot. It’s… It’s easier than trying to memorize and study so hard. Alright! Just relax and listen again. No problem. If you don’t remember, so what? Listen again. It’s really easy.

Ok, after you finish this a few times, listen to the mini-stories, that might also help you. Ok see you next time. Bye bye.

  

This vocabulary is typed by MT.Dang. Please do not use it in business. Nội dung bài Vocabulary được gõ lại bởi MT Dang. Vui lòng không sử dụng lại với mục đích kinh doanh - mua bán.Thank you!

    

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Longtime Affair Vocabulary [Effortless English DVD1 > LV2 > 04]

Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for Longtime Affair. Let's get started right away.

Okay. The letter begins with the headline: Longtime affair appears set to last for long time to come.

Alright. An affair means… It has a couple meanings. In this case, “affair” means a relationship outside of marriage. It means sex outside of marriage. So, it means you are married, but you have sex with another person. Or it.. it sometimes can mean even if you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend and then you have sex with another person, we call that “an affair”, (It’s a noun, “an affair”).

So, this letter is from a woman. And she's having an affair. She's having sex with another guy, not her husband.

Okay, and it's been… its..  And she says, “set to last..”

“Set” means (ah..) prepared, or ready, ready to last.

“For a long time”, it means it's going to continue for a long time. To last. “To last”, using it, “to last” as a verb. Now you know the word “last”. You’re first, second, third and then last. But here using it as a verb “to last”. And “to last” means to continue. And it gives the idea how much time that's something continue. You say, “the movie lasted past tense”, “The movie lasted two hours”. It means the movie was two hours long. the movie continued for two hours. It lasted. So, “to last”, “to last” as a verb means, (ah).. time period; how long something continues; to continue for some time. “To last”.

Okay, and then she says, “I married, he's married. We’re in love and have been for eight  year's. We've tried breaking it off several times.”

“To break something of” means to stop doing it. Or it means to get away from something, to escape from something. So, if you have an affair, means you're you're having sex with another person, and you try to break off the affair.

“Break it off” means to finish it; stop doing it; escape from it; get away from it.  Alright! So to break it off. To break something off.  Of course there's a direct meaning, it can mean you really do break something. But in this case, “to break off” means to stop doing something; to not continue doing it. And it can also mean to escape from; get away from. Gets a break off; to break off something. To break it off.

Okay she says, “but a force bigger than both of us keeps bringing us back together.”

“A force” means some power; A power. Maybe… I don't know what she's talking about, but, some kinda natural feeling, some strong power inside them. Or maybe outside them. Maybe *** something. But whatever, some big power keeps bringing them together again, they tried to stop but then they get back together again, and again.

Okay. She says before this, she never believed in soulmates or true love.

“A soulmate” (is a noun), a soulmate is your perfect partner. Its the perfect match for you in the world, in the universe. Alright, if  you say, “she is my soulmate”, it means “she is my perfect match”, “she's the perfect person for me”. It's more than just love. It's more than just a girlfriend or boyfriend. It's more even more than just husband or wife. It’s the idea that's your life partner. (Someone with a very very deep connection). So this man is her soulmate.

Okay. She says, “our love is deep and unconditional.”

“Unconditional”,  “unconditional”. “Unconditional” means without conditions. Without conditions. A condition is a rule or a circumstance, or a situation. (Okay. That’s a condition).  So without conditions means without rules. So, what does that mean? “Unconditional love”.  We use this phrase a lot: Unconditional love.

“Unconditional love” means love without rules. It means you love somebody in any situation, it doesn't matter what happens, you will always love them, nothing  can change it. “Unconditional love!”

If they kill your brother, you will still love them. If they steal your money, you will still love them. If they hit you in the face and kick you in the stomach, you will still love them. That is unconditional love. It means in any conditionin, in any situation,  anything happens, it doesn't matter. You will still love them. That is unconditional love. “Unconditional love”.

So she’s saying with this man she has unconditional love. Nothing can change it. Even something bad happens. Even though they have some problems. They still love each other… (the same).

She says, “our roots are intertwined..”

First, the word “intertwined”, “intertwined”. “Inter-“ means between. Okay, and ”twine” that means tied together. So, tied together in between it means wrapped around each other. So, you can imagine if the… If I take some string and I take another piece of string, and I... I wrapped them together, I tie them together many many many times, we say that is “intertwine”. The two strings are intertwined. They're wrapped together many times

“Roots”, you can imagine “roots”.  The roots have a plant. The roots have a tree .The roots grow down, and then a another tree is next to it, and those roots also grow down and then they mixed together, right? The roots  of each tree mixed together and they go around each other. And then they become connected, we say those roots are intertwined. Their wrapped around each other, they go around each other and they're connected very strongly.

So what does she mean, “our roots are intertwined”? - Well I don't know exactly. But I think she means “roots”,  she means their deep deep emotions, their deep thoughts, their deep feelings are connected very strongly. They’re around each other, they're connected, they’re intertwined. So their roots are intertwined. Their deep feelings are intertwined.

She says, “It's a shame that it happened late in life.”

“It's a shame” means it's too bad. “It's a shame” means it's a bad situation or its unfortunate. it's really the best. Probably the best meaning. It's unfortunate, it's a shame. It’s the shame... it’s the shame…  Some people say  it's a pity. “It's a pity!” I hear a lots of teenagers say “it's a pity!”

But in fact, “it's a pity” is not so common in normal speech. Back to ***it  says, “it's a pity all the time.” It’s kinda cute! Ah.. but what we really say it’s.. “it's a shame”? It's more common phrase: It's a shame; It's too bad; It's unfortunate; It's a shame; it happened late in life.

So, she saying, “Oh, I wish I met him when I was younger. It's a shame that we met later in life.”

But it's okay. She says, “he always treats me like a queen.”

Treats me. “Treats me”. “He always treats me like a queen!” “Treats me” means our treat someone. “To treat someone” means that's how you behave, it's how you act, towards them.

So if I…  If you say “he treats me like a queen”, it means he's very very nice to me/to her. Alright.  He's very very nice to her. He imagines, he pretends that she is a great Queen. This wonderful person! He serves her, he's always so kind to her, he treats her like a queen.

Now we have another phrase in English which is “He treats me like a dog!”

“He treats me like a dog!” Well, that's the opposite meaning. It means he is very cruel, very mean, very bad, not respectful, not kind.  “He treats me like a dog”, it means he's yells at you, and gives you bad food and.. it’s very unkind; not kind.

Alright. So “treats me”, “treats me”; it's how  you act, how you behave towards another person with another person.

Alright. And then she says, “neither of us is eaving our spouse or family.”

They're not going to leave their spouses. A spouse is a husband or a wife. So husband is a man, wife is a woman. But a spouse is a man or a woman, doesn't matter. Means husband or wife.

So they're not gonna leave their husbands or wives. She can not gonna to leave them.

She says but she's going to continue seeing this man. (Continue with the affair. Because it's magical. They love each other unconditionally.)

And finally in the last paragraph she asks Abby, “Is it wrong? Do we go on until something changes?”

“To go on” it means to continue, to keep doing what you're doing. Should they go on with the affair? Should they continue the affair? Should they keep doing it? So, “to go on”, “to go on”. “To go on means to continue. To go on means keep going, keep… keep doing it.  “?Go on”.

She says, “Or should we try  again to break away?”

Here we have “break away”, again, si..similar to “break it off”. “Break away” means escape. It definitely means get away, to escape, to leave some situation, to break away from a situation”. So to break aways is to leave a situation. To get away from a situation.

Okay. **** she says, “an affair, no matter how you slice it, will never be accepted.”

“No matter how you slice it”, this is a slang phrase in American English. ”No matter how you slice it” means in the any situation. It means however you look at the situation, even if you're… if you're a man or a woman, if you're rich or poor, it doesn't matter. everybody will agree with the same opinion.

So, “no matter how you slice it” means no matter how you look at it, no matter who you are, it doesn't matter. Everybody agrees. An affair is not acceptable. So, no matter how you slice it, no matter how you slice it, the affair will never be accepted. She says “an affair, no matter how you slice it”, means any opinion doesn't matter everybody agrees. An affair no matter how you slice it will never be accepted in the eyes of traditional society.

Ah. So, now she saying “who”, who can't accept it. “In the eyes of”, means in the opinion of. In the opinion of. So, in the eyes of traditional society. So traditional society cannot accept it. In the eyes of/in their opinion traditional society cannot accept it.

So maybe in the eyes of other people, someone else maybe it's okay. Alright. In their eyes, in the eyes of this woman the affair is OK. But in the eyes of traditional society…  all the society the affair is not OK. So, “in the eyes” that means in the opinion, of whose opinion.

She says finally, “It will be perceived as unacceptable”.

“Perceived”. To perceive means to see something. But it really has a deeper meaning than just seeing. It… What it really means is how you judge what you see. So. For example. I’ll give you an example, a man runs out of a building. He’s run out of  a buildining. And he’s screaming, “Ahhhhh………”.  Everybody sees the man. Everybody hears the man screaming. But everyone will have a different opinion about what is happening. Right? One person says, “Oh, he's angry. This man is very very angry.” But you ask another person they say, “Oh, no. He's not angry. He's afraid. This man is very afraid”. You ask a third person. And the third person says, “Oh, no no no. He's hurt. This man is hurt. He feels pain. Something's wrong.”

Alright! If the same situation. Everybody sees the same thing. And they hear the same thing. But they perceive something different. So, “perceive” is really what you see plus what you think. That's what “perceive” means. What you see or hear, or feel, plus what you think. Those two together is that means “perceive”. To perceive as a verb.

So, she’s saying, “People will  perceived the affair as unacceptable.”

They will see it and they will think. They will decide it's not good. It doesn't… Now is it  really unacceptable? Is it really bad? Well, I don't know. We don't know. Right?  Then we would use the verb is... We say, “the affair is unacceptable” means it's a totally correct. Everybody agrees it's unacceptable. But we use the verb “perceive”, it means that's what people's think. That's their opinion. But it might be wrong. To perceive. “Perceive” as the idea of opinion. It's what you see and hear, plus your opinion.

Alright. And finally she signs it: Bewitched, bothered and bewildered in New York

Bewitched is like a… magic, right? You see the word “witch” in that word. It means a… a witched has put a spell on you, it means you're under the effect of magic. So, she.. she’s saying that she feels some kind of magical feeling she's bewitched because if this great man.

“Bothered”, “bothered” means upset. We've had “bothered” before. “Bothered” means upset or annoyed. Upset; Annoyed; Bothered.

So, she also feels a little bit annoyed then bothered. Because it's a difficult situation .

And finally, “bewildered”.

“Bewildered” means confused. Confused. So, this woman feels bothered. She's a little.. ah… annoyed and upset. But he's also bewildered. She's confused. She doesn't know what should she do. “Bewildered”. Bewildered.

Alright! That is the end of this lesson. The vocabulary lesson. Umm… Listen to it a few times and then move on to the miny story. Bye-bye!

This vocabulary is typed by MT.Dang. Please do not use it in business. Nội dung bài Vocabulary được gõ lại bởi MT Dang. Vui lòng không sử dụng lại với mục đích kinh doanh - mua bán.Thank you!

    

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Greek Family Vocabulary [Effortless English DVD1 > LV2 > 03]

Hello. Welcome to the vocabulary lesson for Greek Family. Let's get started.

Headline says: Woman will never be Greek enough for husband’s family.

“Greek”, of course (ahh..) describe someone from Greece. The country of Greece. Ahh.. and then she starts the letter:  “dear abby,  I married a Greek man who's… (ahh..) family never accepted me. She said she was young and naive.

“Naive”  means (ahh..) innocent. It means (ab..). but not like guilty and innocent. It means you don't have much experience in the world. You don't know much about the world. And it also has the idea that you trust people too much. Alright, you..you just.. you’re.. you’re… maybe too friendly, too open, too much trust. You're not careful enough with people. That's “naive”, “naive”. So you\N don't have much experience in the world. Ahh.. you don't know much about the world and life. “Naive”, “naive”.

So she said she was naive when she got married. Ah.. and she said she tried to fit in with their husband’s family. And she converted from Catholicism to Greek, to the Greek Orthodox faith.

To convert means to change. And it can have a religious meaning in this case. Of course, it does. Have early age religious meaning. To “convert” in this case means to change religions. Change religions. And we can say, convert to a new religion. So, you convert to Christianity it means you used to be another religion , now you're a Christian. If you convert to Buddhism you used to be something else. Now you are a Buddhist. So that's “to convert”. To convert: to change from one religion do another.

Alright. And (ahh..) she uses the word “faith” here. She converted to the Greek Orthodox faith. Greek Orthodox is a kind of Christianity. But different then the Catholic Church. And in this case “faith” means religion. The faith can mean like “belief”. It can mean “belief”. In something you have a deep belief. Even know you're not sure. But, this case “faith” means religion, a religion. We sometimes use though... You have to use it with the name of the religion. So I might say: the Hindu faith, the Christian faith, the Muslim faith. So that just means “the Muslim religion”,  “the Christian religion”, “the Buddhist religion”, “the Hindu religion”.

“Faith”. A little bit different meaning for “faith” than we normally.. ahh.. And how we normally use it.

In same paragraph we see the word “relative”. She said, “my husband and I traveled to Crete.. (at an island in Greece) with his family to visit his relatives there.”

“Relatives” means family members, Family members. But it usually means more distant family members.  So your husband, your wife, your children, they are not relatives. We don't use the word relatives to describe your close… close family. (Like your husband or your children.) “Relative” usually means grandparents, cousins, uncles, ants, nieces, nephews.  All of these people we describe this relatives. So, they’re in your family, but they’re.. they’re not in… living in your house. , they might be living in a house, a grandmother could live in your house, but it's..  it's..  they're not so close, not your immediate family. (Relatives are little far away. Grandparents, cousins, etc..)

Alright. And she said some extended family members refuse to share the dinner table with her.

Extended family has the same idea as relatives. “Extended family” means grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. we usually say “immediate family” or “nuclear family”, that's you’re has been a wife and your children, or.. or if you're young, it can.. it means your father and your mother, your brothers and sisters,  that's your immediate family. But then we have the extended family and those are the relatives, those are the people.. (ahh..) like who are a little farther like grandparents, cousins, etc..  “Extended family”.  

And a… these family members refuse to share the dinner table with her.

To refuse means to say “no”.  Means you say you will not do something. And “refuse” normally goes with an action, right? Somebody wants you to do something and you refuse. So refuse… you  refuse to do something. You refuse to do an action, usually. So, in this case they refused to share the dinner table means they refused to eat with her. So you refuse in action, you say no to an action.

Alright, and then (ahh)… We go down to the next… paragraph. And she says “our daughter, "Athena," was born four years later”. She says, “What broke the camel's back for me…”

“To break the camel's back”, this is a common phrase in English. It has a short version and a long version. This is the short version. You say, “what broke the camel's back”,  but we also sometimes say, “the straw that broke the camel's back”, “the straw that broke the camel's back”. Or just “broke the camel's back”. Either one it means it's the last thing. Its the action or the situation that finally makes you do something. That finally changes your mind.

So *** imagine (ahh).. that you have a camel. Alright? It’s an animal, and you're putting stuff

on top of the camel, so you put (ahh)… you may be (uhh..). maybe straw, straws like grass. But you're putting some on the camel, and the camel is okay. You put more, you put more, gets heavier and heavier, and heavier. You put more, you put more, you put more… Oh now the camel’s… “Ohh!!” His back is hurting! You.. more.. more..  more.. And finally you put one more , and the camel’s brack back break (Brockk)!! Alright? So says.. it's the final thing. It's the final bad experience. That causes the camel to… to break or to die. The… That is where it comes from. And also it means like that you have some kinda bad , and it's been happening a long time. So, let's say in this case.. (the… you know)…  the family, they do something bad to her.

Then they do something, another thing is bad, then they do another bad thing, then another… Each time she's a little more upset, a little more angry... But more… more… more bad things… more bad things…. more bad things… Finally, they did something to her daughter, they were rude to her daughter, that was the last straw. Alright?  That's what broke the camel's back. It was the last event. After this she so angry. She will not be nice to them anymore. It's the final action. And now she can't.. she can't handle it anymore.

Alright. And, so, what happened is that the father… the…(ahmm)… Father-in-law was giving money to all the grandchildren who had Greek heritage. But didn't give one to their daughter.

“Heritage” means.. (ahh)… When we talk about Greek heritage or German heritage, or Japanese heritage, “heritage” means… (ahh).. where your family comes from. Where your family comes from.

Ahm... And *** talking about your family in the past. So, that just mean right now, so we can have someone.. (ahh).. a child…  This child was born in America. So the child, the girl is an American. But she's a Greek heritage, because her father's Greek. The grandparents are Greek. Alright, have her family is Greek. So, she's not Greek. The girl is not Greek, because she's American. Born in America, lives in America. But she is of Greek heritage. Alright? Her family is Greek.

So, someone, an immigrant comes here, say from Mexico. Ah.. Their Mexican. But their children… That say their children are born in America. They grow up in America. They always live in America, they're americans. But they're of Mexican heritage. Their family going back in history was Mexican.

Alright. And we keep going and (ah..). She says that.. her little daughter was really upset when she didn't get money from her father-in-law like everybody else.

And then she said, her husband has truck just tried to stay neutral.

“Neutral” means… Ah… In this case, “neutral” means you don't pick a side. Some*** we have one side against another side, and you say “oh, I'm not fighting on either side. I'm in the middle, I will not support either side. I am neutral”.

So the husband won't support his wife and daughter, and the husband also won't support his Greek family.  Ah… He just says, “I'm neutral!” He won't help either one. He won't use either side.

And finally, the last sentence she says, “Abby, how far should someone have to go…” or “how far should I have to go to fit in with my husband's family?”

Remember “to fit in” means to.. to have a good relationship with. “To fit in with the family” means have a good relationship with the family, to be long to the family, to be part of the family. That's “to fit in”.

So, she’s saying, “how far should I have to go to do this..”, that means “how far do I need to go”, “how far should I have to go”. That just means “how much do I need to do”, “how much do I need to do” or “how much should I try?” That's the meaning of that phrase.

“How far should I have to go to learn English?” It means “what must I do?”  “How much do I need to do to learn english?” Or “how much do I need to try to learn English?” “How far do I need to go…?”

Alright. So that’s All. That’s all of the vocabulary in this little thing.

Ahmm.. Listen to this a few times. Make sure you know the vocabulary. This once not too difficult. I hope! And then we'll move on to the mini-story.

See you next time. Bye!

This vocabulary is typed by MT.Dang. Please do not use it in business. Nội dung bài Vocabulary được gõ lại bởi MT Dang. Vui lòng không sử dụng lại với mục đích kinh doanh - mua bán.Thank you!

    

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Teaching The Cinderella Fairytale: China vs. America - Giảng dạy câu chuyện Cô bé Lọ lem: Kiểu Trung Quốc và kiểu Mỹ

How an American teacher would tell the story of Cinderella

Cách giáo viên người Mỹ dạy về câu chuyện Cô Bé Lọ Lem

    The bell rings, and students run into the classroom. This class, they’re discussing Cinderella. The teacher asks one student to come up to the front and summarize the story. The student quickly finishes, the teacher thanks him, and starts to ask the class questions.

      Tiếng chuông reo lên, và các học sinh chạy ùa vào lớp học. Buổi học này, họ sẽ thảo luận về truyện Cô bé Lọ Lem. Người giáo viên yêu cầu một học sinh lên và kể tóm tắc câu chuyện. Em học sinh tóm tắc một cách nhanh chóng, rồi người giáo viên cảm ơn em học sinh, và rồi bắt đầu đặt những câu hỏi cho những học sinh.

Teacher: Which characters did you like in the story? Disliked? Why?

Giáo viên: Các em thấy thích và không thích những nhân vật nào trong câu chuyện? Và tại sao?

Student: I like Cinderella, and the Prince. I don’t like Cinderella’s step-mother and her step-sisters. Cinderella is kind, adorable, and beautiful. Her stepmother and stepsisters were mean to her.

Học sinh: Em thích Cô bé Lọ lem và cả hoàng tử nữa. Em không thích bà mẹ kế và mấy cô chị kế của Cô bé Lọ lem. Cô bé Lọ lem tốt bụng, đáng yêu và còn xinh đẹp nữa. Bà mẹ kế và các chị kế kia đối xử không tốt với Lọ lem.

Teacher: If at midnight, Cinderella didn’t get into her pumpkin carriage in time, what would happen?

Giáo viên: Vậy nếu vào lúc nữa đêm mà Lọ lem không kịp lên cỗ xe đúng giờ thì chuyện gì sẽ xảy ra?

Student: She would turn back into a servant with dirty clothes. Aiya, that would be horrible.

Học sinh: Cô ấy sẽ trở lại với bộ dạng đầy tớ trong bộ áo quần bẩn thỉu. Eo ôi, sẽ kinh khủng lắm.

Teacher: Therefore, you must be punctual, otherwise you might land yourself in trouble. Also, look around, all of you are very clean and pretty, you need to make sure to be clean or your friends will be scared of you. Girls, you need to be extra careful. When you grow up and go out on a date, if you’re not careful and your boyfriend sees you when you’re very ugly, he might be so scared that he faints. (The teacher pretends to faint, class laughs).

Giáo viên: Vậy nên, các em nhất thiết phải là người đúng giờ, nếu không các em có thể sẽ tự gây rắc rối cho mình. Ngoài ra, hãy nhìn xung quanh mà xem, tất cả các em đều trông rất sạch đẹp . Vậy các em hãy nên chắc rằng mình luôn ăn mặc sạch đẹp, hoặc nếu không bạn bè của các em sẽ lánh xa. Các cô gái nghe này, các em lại nên càng cẩn trọng hơn nữa. Khi các em lớn lên và ra ngoài hẹn hò với bạn trai, nếu em không cẩn trọng và bạn trai thấy được em khi em đang ăn mặc trông rất lượm thượm thì anh ta có lẽ sẽ hoảng đến mức ngất lịm luôn đấy. (Giáo viên giả vờ ngất người, cả lớp cười ồ lên).

Teacher: Alright, next question: If you were Cinderella’s stepmother, would you stop Cinderella from attending the ball? You have to be honest!

Giáo viên: Được rồi, câu tiếp theo nào: Nếu em là bà mẹ kế của Lọ lem, em có ngăn cản Lọ lem đến tham dự vũ hội hay không? Các em phải trả lời thật lòng đấy nhé!

(After a while, a student raised his hand and answers): Yes, if I were Cinderella’s stepmother, I would stop her from attending the ball too.

(Một lúc sau, một em học sinh giờ tay lên và trả lời): Dạ có ạ, nếu em là mẹ kế của Lọ lem, em cũng sẽ ngăn cản Lọ lem đi dự vũ hội.

Teacher: Why?

Giáo viên: Tại sao vậy?

Student: Because, because I love my own daughter, I want her to be queen.

Học sinh: Bởi vì... vì em yêu con gái của mình, em muốn con mình thành hoàng hậu.

Teacher: Yes. The stepmothers we see all seem to be evil, they don’t treat others well enough, but they treat their own children very well. Do you understand? They’re not evil, they just can’t love other children like they love their own.

Giáo viên: Đúng thế. Những người mẹ kế mà chúng ta thấy, dường như tất cả là những người xấu, họ không đối xử đủ tốt với những người khác, nhưng họ lại đối xử với con cái của họ rất tốt. Các em có hiểu không? Họ không phải người xấu, mà họ chỉ chẳng thể yêu những đứa trẻ khác như họ yêu con cái của mình mà thôi.

Teacher: Children, next question. Cinderella’s stepmother forbade her to go to the ball and even locked her in. But why was she able to go and become the most beautiful girl there?

Giáo viên: Câu hỏi tiếp này các em: Bà mẹ kế của Lọ lem ngăn cấm cô đi dự vũ hội và rồi thậm chí khóa cửa nhốt cô ấy. Nhưng tại sao Lọ lem vẫn có thể đến và còn trở thành cô gái xinh đẹp nhất ở vũ hội?

Student: Because her fairy godmother helped her, gave her beautiful clothes, turned a pumpkin into a carriage and dogs and mice into servants.

Học sinh: Vì bà tiên đỡ đầu đã giúp cô ấy, khoác tặng vào người cô một bộ vái xinh đẹp, biến quả bí thành một cỗ xe ngựa, và còn biến những chú chó và chuột thành những người hầu của cô.

Teacher: You’re right! Think, if Cinderella didn’t have her fairy godmother’s help, she couldn’t have attend the ball, right?

Giáo viên: Em nói đúng rồi! Nghĩ mà xem, nếu Lọ lem không có sự giúp đỡ của bà tiên, cô ấy đã chẳng thể đến tham dự vũ hội, đúng không nào?

Students: Yes!

Những học sinh: Dạ đúng ạ!

Teacher: If the dogs and mice weren’t willing to help her, could she have successfully returned home at the last minute?

Giáo viên: Nếu những chú chó và chuột không giúp Lọ lem, liệu cô ấy có thể thành công quay về nhà vào phút cuối hay không?

Student: No, then she would have successfully scared the prince (the class laughs).

Học sinh: Không ạ, lúc đó thì cô ấy sẽ làm hoàng tử hú hồn thành công đấy ạ (cả lớp cười rộ).

Teacher: Cinderella had the help of her fairy godmother, but just the godmother’s help wasn’t enough. So children, no matter where you are, we all need friends. Our friends might not be fairies, but we need them. I hope you all have many, many friends.

Giáo viên: Cô bé Lọ lem đã có được sự giúp đỡ từ bà tiên, nhưng chỉ với sự giúp đỡ của bà tiền thôi thì vẫn chưa đủ. Vậy nên các em này, cho dù các em có ở hoàng cảnh nào đi nữa, tất cả chúng ta luôn cần những người bạn. Những người bạn của chúng ta có thể không phải là tiên, nhưng ta vẫn cần đến họ. Nên tôi mong các em có thật... thật nhiều bạn bè.

Teacher: Now, please think about this, if Cinderella gave up because her stepmother wouldn’t allow her to go to the ball, would she have become the the prince’s bride?

Giáo viên: Bây giờ, hãy nghĩ đến điều này, nếu như Lọ lem bỏ cuộc vì bà mẹ kế đã không để cô ấy đến vũ hội, liệu cô ấy có trở thành cô dâu của hoàng tử được hay không?

Student: No! If that were case, she wouldn’t have been at the ball. The prince wouldn’t have met her, got to know her, and fell in love with her.

Học sinh: Không thể ạ. Nếu trong hoàn cảnh đó thì cô ấy sẽ không có mặt ở vũ hội. Hoàng tử sẽ không gặp mặt cô ấy, biết đến cố ấy, và yêu cô ấy.

Teacher: That’s right! If Cinderella didn’t want to go to the ball, even if her stepmother didn’t stop her, or even supported her, it would’ve been useless. Who decided whether she was going to attend the ball?

Giáo viên: Đúng thế đấy! Nếu Lọ lem không muốn đễn vũ hội, ngay cả khi nếu bà mẹ kế không ngăn cấm, hoặc thậm chí còn ủng hộ cô đến vũ hội đi nữa, thì điều đó cũng chẳng có nghĩa gì. Vậy ai là người quyết quyết định Lọ lem sẽ đến vũ hội được hay không?

Student: Herself.

Học sinh: Là chính cô ấy.

Teacher: Therefore, children, even though Cinderella didn’t have her mother to love her, had a stepmother that didn’t love her, she still loved herself. Because she loved herself, she went to look for what she wanted. If you feel as if you’re not loved, or like Cinderella has a stepmother that doesn’t love you, what should you do?

Giáo viên: Bởi thế, các em này, ngay cả khi Lọ lem không có được tình yêu của mẹ dành cho cô, và còn có một người mẹ kế chẳng thương yêu gì cô, cô ấy vẫn yêu bản thân mình. Bởi vì cô ấy yêu bản thân, nên cô ấy theo đuổi điều cô ấy mong muốn. Nếu em cảm thấy như em không được thương yêu, hoặc giống như Lọ lem có một người mẹ kế chẳng yêu thương gì mình, em sẽ làm gì?

Students: Love ourselves!

Những học sinh: Phải biết yêu chính mình ạ!

Teacher: That’s right, nobody can stop you from loving yourself. If you feel that others don’t love you, you need to love yourself; if nobody gives you opportunities, you should create opportunities for yourself. If you really love yourself, then you will find what you need. Nobody could stop Cinderella from attending the ball, nobody could stop her from becoming the queen, except herself, right?

Giáo viên: Đúng thế đấy, không ai có thể ngăn cản em yêu chính bản thân mình. Nếu em cảm thấy những người khác không yêu mến em, em nên biết yêu chính mình; nếu chẳng ai trao cho em cơ hội, em phải biết tạo ra nhiều cơ hội cho chính mình. Nếu em thật sự biết yêu bản thân mình, thì em sẽ tìm được cho mình thứ em muốn có. Chẳng ai có thể ngăn Lọ lem đến dự vũ hội, chẳng ai có thể ngăn cô ấy trở thành hoàng hậu, trừ chính cố ấy, đúng không nào?

Student: Yes!!!

Học sinh: Đúng ạ!!!

Teacher: Last question, what’s illogical about this story?

Giáo viên: Câu hỏi cuối cùng, em có thấy điều gì phi lý về câu chuyện này không?

(After a long time) Student: After midnight everything would transform back, but Cinderella’s glass slippers didn’t.

(Sau một hồi lấu) Học sinh: Sau nữa đêm mọi thứ đều sẽ trở về ban đầu, nhưng đôi giày thủy tinh của Lọ lem lại không.

Teacher: Wow, you’re so smart! See, even great authors make mistakes. Therefore, making mistakes isn’t something to be afraid of. I guarantee, if one of you became an author in the future, you’ll be better than this one! Do you believe me?

Giáo viên: Ôi, các em thật thông mình! Các em thấy không, ngay cả nhà văn vĩ đại còn mắc lỗi mà. Bởi vậy, sai lầm đâu phải là điều gì để phải đáng sợ. Tôi cam đoạn, nếu một trong các em trở thành nhà văn trong tương lai, các em sẽ làm tốt hơn thế này nữa! Các em có tin tôi không?

The children cheer.

Bọn trẻ vỗ tay hoan hô.

A Chinese teacher tells the story of Cinderella 

Giáo viên người Trung Quốc giảng dạy qua truyện Cô bé Lọ lem

Bell rings, students and teacher walk into the classroom.

Tiếng chuông reo lên và các học sinh và giáo viên bước vào lớp học.

Teacher: Greetings classmates.

Giáo viên: Chào các em.

Students: Greeeee—tiiiinngs—teeeeeacher—(elongated vowels)

Học sinh: Chào..ào..àoooo..... thầy...ầyyyyy... ạạạ.... (giọng dài lê lết) 

Teacher: Today’s class, we’re discussing the story of Cinderella. Did everybody study in advance?

Giáo viên: Buổi học của hôm nay, chúng ta sẽ thảo luận về câu chuyện của Cô bé Lọ lem. Các em đã học qua trước chưa nào?

Student: Study? Who doesn’t know the story.

Học sinh: Học ư? Ai mà chẳng biết câu chuyện đó chứ.

Teacher: Is Cinderella a story from the Grimm Brothers or Hans Andersen? Who was the author? When was the author born? What were the major events in the author’s life?

Giáo viên: Vậy câu chuyên Cô bé Lọ lem là có từ Anh em nhà Grimm hay Hans Andersen? Ai là tác giả? Tác giả được sinh vào khi nào? Các sự kiện lớn lao trong đời của tác giả là gì?

Student: …..(In whispers) It’s all in the book, can’t you read it yourself?

Học sinh: (Thì thào)..... Tất cả đều ở trong sách đấy ạ, thầy không thể tự đọc sao?

Teacher: What is the theme of the story?

Giáo viên: Thế chủ để của câu chuyện là gì?

Student: This must be an exam question.

Học sinh: Đây chắc hẳn phải là một câu hỏi khảo thí.

Teacher: Alright, let’s start. Who can divide the story into segments, and tell me why you would divide it this way?

Giáo viên: Được rồi, chúng ta bắt đầu nào. Ai có thể chia nội dung câu chuyện thành các đoạn, và nói cho tôi biết tại sao các em lại chia theo cách này?

Student: The beginning and ending segments include…the body segment…in total…

Học sinh: Đoạn mở đầu và đoạn kết thúc gồm... phần thân bài... trong tổng...

Teacher: This segment has very vivid descriptions and precise wording. Everybody copy it 5 times for homework, then recite it. I will check next class.

Giáo viên: Đoạn này có rất nhiều mô tả sinh động và từ ngữ chính xác. Các em chép lại 5 lần cho bài tập về nhà, sau đó đọc thuộc lòng nhé. Tôi sẽ kiểm tra vào buổi học sau.

Student: More recitations!?

Học sinh: Phải đọc thuộc lòng nữa à!?

Teacher: Not long, just that segment.

Giáo viên: Không nhiều đâu, chỉ đoạn đó thôi.

Student: So many recitation from other classes already…

Học sinh: Có quá nhiều bài học đọc thuộc lòng từ những buổi học khác rồi...

Teacher: Let’s start analyzing the text, everybody pay attention. Who’s going to read the first part? Everyone else pay attention and conclude what the theme of this segment is.

Giáo viên: Hãy bắt đầu phân tích văn bản nào, các em chú ý. Em nào sẽ đọc đoạn đầu tiên nào?

Student: (reads)

Học sinh: (đọc)

Teacher: Here, everyone focus on this sentence. It is a metaphor. Is this a direct or indirect metaphor? Why does the author use it?

Giáo viên: Đây, các em tập trung vào câu này. Nó  là một câu ẩn dụ. Vậy đây là một câu ẩn dụ trực tiế hay gián tiếp? Tại sao tác giả sử dụng nó?

Students: (N number of people start to sleep)

Học sinh: (một số người bắt đầu ngủ)

Teacher: Everyone notice this word, if we exchange it with another, why does it not work as well as the original?

Giáo viên: Các em chú ý từ này, nếu chúng ta thay nó với một từ khác, tại sao nó không còn hay như từ gốc ban đầu nữa? 

Students: (More people start to sleep)

Học sinh: (Thêm nhiều người bắt đầu ngủ)

Teacher: Did everybody notice, if I exchange the position of this phrase with the following one, does it work? Why or why not?

Giáo viên: Các em đã chú ý rằng, nếu ta đổi vị trí của cụm từ này cụm từ sau đây, nó có ổn không? Tại sao, và tại sao lại không?

Student: I’m not you, how could I notice? (More people fall asleep)

Học sinh: Em đâu phải là thầy, sao em chú ý được chứ? (Thêm nhiều người chìm vào ngủ gục)

Teacher: Why are you all sleeping? You need to know, if you don’t pay attention in class, you won’t get good grades, if your grades are not good enough you won’t go to university, and if you don’t go to university you can’t…You need to understand these principles of life!!!

Giáo viên: Tại sao tất cả các em đều ngủ vậy chứ? Các em nên biết rằng, nếu các em không tập trung trong lớp, các em sẽ không đạt được điểm tốt, nếu điểm của các em không đủ tốt thì các em sẽ không thể vào đại học, và nếu các em không học đại học thì các em không thể... Các em nên hiểu được những nguyên tắc này của cuộc sống!!!

Nguồn: http://www.chinasmack.com

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